Serious Therapy
by Reichenbach
Summary: Timmy's had it up to... HERE with everyone. Bats, Young Justice...


Not mine, bla bla bla.   
  
Serious Therapy  
  
I dropped in through the window. "Sorry I'm late, Dr. Kramer" I said breathlessly. "Traffic…"   
  
Her chocolate lips spread as smiled warmly and tapped her pencil against her desk. "That's alright. I understand." She had dark brown ringlets around her face, and she was wearing a tan suit that looked… rather nice on her. She wasn't someone I minded looking at. Nightwing knew how to pick 'em.   
  
"Thanks again for seeing me," I said. "And staying late, and not asking all kinds of questions…" Rambling, Robin, you're rambling.   
  
"That's alright. Now. How have things been going for you this week?"   
  
I sat down on the leather chair, pulling my cape behind me. "Well, not much. Situation normal: all messed up."   
  
"And what does that MEAN, Robin?"   
  
I sighed, letting my elbows rest on my knees, staring at the patterns in the carpet. "Well, I'm still not talking to Batman. I mean… where does he come off?"   
  
"What about school?"   
  
"Got all my homework done for a change. Without uh… 'outside help' either.   
  
"Oracle?"   
  
I nodded. "I mean… it's not really cheating, is it? I'd do the work myself if I had time, and she already knows the answer. She passed tenth grade, right? Why do work someone else has already done?" I blushed a little. "Ok. I know I have to do my own homework. Just… like… don't have time. Not with Young Justice, and Batman busting my chops, and all that stupid stuff."   
  
"What about your father? Any change there?"   
  
I rolled my eyes "Ri-ight. Well, he did come to school and listen to all the stuff the principal had to say, then yelled at me, right in the office, with my step-mom sitting right there. Ug. Like… they just don't get it. I'm off saving a classmate from the snake-people and the mini-yetti-people, and what do I get? MORE restrictions placed on my comings and goings at school. It's like… for every good thing I do, I get punished and in trouble with ten people. I just… hate my life."   
  
"What do you hate about it?"   
  
"That it's constantly getting worse?"   
  
"That's a fair thing to dislike about it."   
  
"I mean… Batman just HAD to go ahead and tell Spoiler. I was doing JUST FINE screwing up my own life because of the identity stuff. Frigging hell, it got one of my friends killed. And it screwed up my relationship with Spoiler for months and months… like over a year…and he just decides to tell her, why? I don't know. Because well, who knows. He isn't answerable to anyone, you know? That's the problem. Even the Justice League really can't do much to him. He almost gets them all killed, and what do they do? Kick him out, till they need help, then they come running. That's the problem. He's… just too damned good. He gets all these exceptions made because he's the freaking best. So, since I'm like… fourth on the totem pole of like people in Gotham you turn to when the whole world is falling apart, like, folks can just do this stuff to me."   
  
"And what about your relationship with Nightwing?"   
  
"That's the only thing that even REMOTELY makes sense. Of course, I haven't talked to him since all this crap started, so who knows. He doesn't exactly get along with Batman either, all the time. But with my luck, he'll be taking Batman's side on this new turn of events. Why? Because Robin is just the single most unlucky person on the face of the earth."   
  
"Maybe you should talk to Nightwing."   
  
"Maybe I shouldn't. I mean, if I don't talk to him, then I can't screw that up too, and I can pretend deep down in my mind that he and I are just fine. Even though we might not be."   
  
She put down her pen. "Well, that is something you will have to figure for yourself. Maybe we can talk about that a little bit more right now. You seem to have so many problems in all of your other relationships—what is working so well with Nightwing, that you don't wish to jeopardize?"  
  
I thought about it. "I don't know. He just… doesn't bug me. He's pulled stunts a few times that I thought were gonna kill me, but… I don't know. He just… doesn't bug me."   
  
"Can you give me examples?"   
  
"Well, once he decided it would be fun to cruise around a strange city with blindfolds on. I was almost pizza-city when I almost fell off a train. Then folks started shooting, and I still wasn't allowed to take off the blind fold."   
  
"And what do you mean by 'he leaves you alone'?"   
  
I bit my lip for a moment. "Well, he's not all like, 'you need to chill out more,' like Young Justice. And he's not all like 'you need to be like this,' like Batman. And he's not all like 'you used to be such a good boy' like my dad. He just… leaves me alone."   
  
"Would you that say he's not judgmental of you?"   
  
"Yeah! That's it. He's not all judgmental and shit. Oops sorry. Stuff."   
  
"You can say whatever you like here. If you feel like saying 'shit,' then so be it."   
  
God, she was a cool lady. "He is like the only person who doesn't piss me off, except when he pisses me off. I mean, he's done some mean things. Once he glued my bare backside to the tiles in the shower. And I was stuck like that for like two hours. But… I don't know. He laughs and stuff. Young Justice tries to do mean stuff… but it's malicious somehow. Not like Nightwing. God. Young Justice. Don't get me started. They're my friends. My best friends, outside of the folks from my old school, who I don't get to see any more. But Superboy can be a real ass. He doesn't listen. And Bart's a good kid, it just takes like so much energy to keep him on task and focused. The girls… they're girls and I may never understand them. Wonder Girl is constantly pining after Superboy, Arrowette wont come back to the team… augg. I hate girls. No. I mean, I like girls, but they're so… they're like some other species."   
  
"That's alright. Young men your age aren't supposed to understand the opposite sex. You need to figure yourself out yet. And I'd say you're doing a spectacular job."   
  
"I don't think so. It's like… I should already have this figured out and half these problems are based on the fact that I'm just not good enough to have a solution."   
  
"Do you remember what you said about Batman?"  
  
"What?"   
  
"That he gets away with as much as he does because he is the best at what he does?"   
  
I nodded blindly.   
  
"The things you say he is in need of 'getting away' with, they're his own personal failings. Things HE doesn't have the answer to. Not everyone can have the answer to every problem."   
  
"Superman sure seems to. Even if it's not the RIGHT answer, he's got one."   
  
"We all can't be Superman."   
  
"We all can't be Batman. I'm having just a hard time being Robin."   
  
"I'm sure Superman has just as many insecurities and faults as you or Batman."   
  
"No way."   
  
"EVERYONE has problems."   
  
"Yeah, like the fact that he and Nightwing obviously shop at the same big and tall store cause they both wear the same ugly shirts outta uniform." I snickered.   
  
"Do you really see that as a failing? Or are you hiding behind your mouth again?"   
  
"Hiding being my mouth again, ma'am," I muttered.   
  
"I thought so. Robin, we're running close on time. I have a homework assignment for you."   
  
I just stared at her in shock. I just got done telling her I got other people to do my homework for me.   
  
"I want you to come up with a list. You don't have to write it down. But come up with a list of all of the people who are having problems with—your father, your principal, your room mate, Batman, Superboy… and I want you to come up with at least two POSITIVE things in your relationship with each person."   
  
"That sounds hard."   
  
"I didn't say it was going to be easy, but we can move on, once we have the list."   
  
"Alright."   
  
"Same time next week?"   
  
I nodded.   
  
"Thanks, doctor."   
  
"You're welcome, Robin."   
  
"I… I'll have to thank Nightwing for referring me to you." Nightwing said if I needed to talk, she was the lady, and he was right. It felt good to just get things out.   
  
I exited the same way I came in, feeling for the first time that week like I could take in a deep breath and not drown.   



End file.
